Kitchen Fire Damage | What to Do

The kitchen is one of the most vulnerable areas in the home to suffer from fire damage. Oven fires, stovetop grease fires, fryer oil spills, and even toasters and microwaves can all result in a kitchen fire. Thankfully, people are often able to catch a kitchen fire before it burns down the entire house. However, you’re still left with burnt cabinets, countertops, soot damage, and other forms of fire damage as a result of the kitchen fire. Our fire restoration technicians at ServiceMaster by Replacements have encountered numerous cases of kitchen fire damage in the Neptune, Manchester, and Cranford, NJ areas. We offer these tips for dealing with a kitchen fire aftermath.

How to Deal with Kitchen Fire Damage

Ventilate the House

One of the first things you should do after the fire is put out and the situation is safe again is to get airflow going. Open windows and bring in box fans on full blast to start airing out soot and dust that may be present in the air after the kitchen fire. This will also help air out odors of smoke and burnt food. It’s important to air out the entire house, as smoke and soot will spread everywhere even after a small kitchen fire. For this reason, it’s important to change any HVAC filters you may have as well.

Document the Damage and Take Inventory

Before you begin cleanup from the kitchen fire, take photos and document the damage to assist with your insurance claim. Make a list of all items lost in the fire. This includes any open food items as they will have been contaminated by burnt toxins. Damaged cabinets, appliances, and personal belongings should all be documented and you should place an insurance claim as soon as you can.

Begin Kitchen Fire Cleanup

• Wear a respirator before beginning any smoke or soot cleanup
• Vacuum up any loose soot on the floors, walls, and ceilings
• Use a chemical sponge to begin wiping soot from surfaces, discarding it once it is covered in soot
• Wash surfaces with a commercial soot cleaner or dish soap
• Remove debris and damaged materials from the kitchen

Contact Fire Damage Restoration Professionals

While a small kitchen fire may seem manageable in terms of the damage it causes, it’s important to understand how widespread it can easily become. Even after the flames are out, the corrosive elements from burnt materials will continue to etch and tarnish surfaces in the kitchen and throughout the home.

While you can be proactive in the kitchen fire cleanup yourself, always contact a fire damage restoration service for effective cleanup and peace of mind. ServiceMaster by Replacements provides fire damage restoration in Neptune, Manalapan, Matawan, Long Branch, Cranford, Union, Elizabeth, and Springfield Township, NJ. We are an IICRC-certified firm and our fire restoration crews are equipped with the latest fire cleaning equipment.

We will quickly arrive to the scene of the fire damage emergency, such as a kitchen fire, and begin stabilization of the structure and perform full fire repairs.

Our fire cleanup crews are available 24/7 and can be contacted at (732) 842-6917 for fire damage restoration services.